Brother of murdered Ecuadorian journalist receives death threats

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On 16 April 2014, Alfredo Valdiviezo, the brother of journalist Fausto Valdiviezo, who was killed on 11 April 2013, received a threatening phone call while at his mother's home in the city of Guayaquil.

The call took place just over a year since Fausto Valdiviezo was killed. The case is still unsolved and his family has continued to hold public events calling for those responsible to be held accountable.

Alfredo Valdiviezo, who is also a journalist, reported to the Guayas Attorney General that at approximately 2 p.m. on 16 April he received a called at his mother's house. Someone who said they were a CNN journalist asked for him. When he took the call he was threatened. “They told me to shut up, to not make statements about anything, that I had already gotten money to keep me quiet but that I was continuing to speak out, and that they were going to start killing my family. They said I would be the last one to be killed,” said Valdiviezo in his statement.

He asked authorities to investigate the call and find those responsible.

After the murder of Fausto Valdiviezo – who was shot by three people wearing hooded tops – there are still more questions than answers, as neither the motive nor the people responsible have been identified. It is still unclear what links Valdiviezo with the five people who have been accused in connection with the case. The alleged mastermind behind the murder is at large.

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